Acremonium camptosporum isolated as an endophyte of Bursera simaruba from Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

An interesting endophytic fungus was isolated from the leaves of Bursera simaruba, a tree in the semi-deciduous dry tropical forest at El Eden Ecological Reserve. The cultured strain developed the morphology characteristic of the genus Acremonium—tapered phialides and small aseptate conidia clustered in slimy heads. A detailed morphological examination and 28S rDNA sequence analysis identified the Yucatan strain as Acremonium camptosporum, an uncommon fungus found previously as a saprobe. The material is described and illustrated as the first record of this species from Mexico.